A Change in Routine
by petalled
Summary: One-shot. "Happy Monday," she said snidely, putting the broadsheet down. "I know breakfast together is a post-coital custom of ours but I thought about changing things up a bit."


**Disclaimer:** GW = not mine.

**Author's Note****: **Doing the 7snogs prompts from LJ. This also fits the "unexpected date" prompt in schmoop bingo. Was meant to be part of a ficlet series but I changed my mind. *goes to edit the bajillion places she x-posted it to*

**A Change in Routine  
by mistress amethyst une**

_"Don't worry, Heero. I may go both ways but I'm no threat to you."_

While Relena had gotten a good chuckle out of Dorothy's quip over brunch, Heero felt a mild twinge of discomfort. The whole conversation had been a bit awkward.

_"Though I do admit that getting in your way at school was a fun little hobby," smirked Dorothy. "It taught me strategy better than any battle ever did."_

_"Getting in my way?" glared Heero._

_"I thought I had a chance with her," she shrugged. "But you both know I changed my mind. Trying to set you up was a lot more fun. A bit disappointing but fun."_

If Heero's extrapolation of Dorothy's expectations was anywhere near accurate, disappointment had definitely been forthcoming. Tempting as it might have been to pin Relena to that table and have his way with her, there was no way he was going to let Dorothy watch. He had settled for a look of surprise while addressing Relena and she reciprocated the gesture. Dorothy was very vocal about her dissatisfaction at the lack of a passionate reunion. That had been years ago, while that whole fiasco with Vulkanus had been in full swing. Heero had met with Dorothy to procure some data and, manipulator that she was, she had called upon Relena as well. He had been doing everything in his power to avoid Relena, not wanting to get in her way. Still, it seemed their paths were destined to cross.

It was a memory from another life, one he didn't see himself revisiting.

Today's brunch had left him unsettled. Lying alone in his apartment, he found falling asleep difficult. So Dorothy really had been actively trying to keep him and Relena apart at the pacifist school? That certainly explained her impeccable timing. She had an uncanny habit of showing up whenever he and Relena were alone together on campus. The worst of it had been when she had interrupted their conversation with that invitation from Romafeller. He didn't know what was worse: Dorothy's admission of a former attraction to Relena or the fact that she later engaged in ill-advised matchmaking endeavors.

He growled into his pillow. Even when she wasn't there, Dorothy was an endless source of frustration. He was no fool about the means at Dorothy's disposal. If Relena had reciprocated Dorothy's romantic desire in the least...

Well, she didn't. Wasn't that what mattered?

Still, knowing that he had been unaware of a rival for her affections left him feeling subpar. How could he not have seen it? How could he not have known that she could have easily fallen to someone else?

Of all the times he would have thought envy would visit him, he never expected it to arrive almost a decade late. Neither did he ever think that he would find a reason to be jealous of Dorothy Catalonia. The woman, despite disclaiming any romantic interest, still had an easygoing relationship with Relena. They would converse in an almost playful manner, completely in earnest. On the other hand, his conversations with Relena were almost always blighted by a tinge of awkwardness on his part. She understood him but he couldn't quite decode how her mind worked.

Somewhere down the line, a dreamless darkness took him in and he soon found himself opening his eyes to sunlight streaming through his window as the strong scent of coffee tickled his nose.

The scent of coffee?

He half-stumbled into the kitchen. Relena was at the dining table, fully-dressed in a simple black pantsuit for the day ahead. She was reading the newspaper, paying him no mind even as his feet hit the wooden floor with a distinctive patter. Well, actually, she was pretending to read. The smile in her unmoving eyes was visible since the paper didn't cover her face in its entirety.

"Happy Monday," she said snidely, putting the broadsheet down. "I know breakfast together is a post-coital custom of ours but I thought about changing things up a bit."

"I didn't hear you come in," he murmured.

"Maybe you did but your subconscious didn't perceive me as a threat?" she smirked as her eyes gave him a quick sweep. It was only then that he remembered that he had gone to bed in his boxers. Still, it wouldn't do to lose poise now. He took his seat opposite her at the table.

"Today's a holiday, isn't it?" he recalled, trying to distract from his state of undress by addressing her state of overdress. "Why do you look like you're going to meeting?"

"I'm not," she chuckled. "I told you I was changing up a post-coital tradition, didn't I? Buttoning up instead of stripping down."

She rose from her chair and came up to him. Lips mere inches from his, her hand came up to grasp his face and turn his cheek. Coffee had imparted a warmth to her mouth as lipstick left its mark on his skin.

"Though I think you need to eat first," she whispered in his ear. "You'll need your strength for what I have in mind."

Returning to her seat, she picked up the paper once more as he reluctantly reached for his coffee. A small stack of pancakes was laid out next to it and he knew better to disobey any command she gave in that sultry tone of voice. But...

"Why?"

Slowly, the newspaper went down to reveal the impish expression on her face. "I already told you. Changing things up a bit. Dorothy and I had a chat after you left for that afternoon seminar of yours and this was one of her suggestions. I'm not taking all her advice though. Some of the things she said, I wouldn't be inclined to repeat in the company of the most debauched sort of hellions, let alone yours. It was really very kind of her considering she really did have a crush on me at one point. While I never felt the same, I have to admit that she's quite the piece of work."

Suddenly, the same unsettling feelings that had kept him from a good night's sleep returned with a vengeance. It must have shown on his face because he could think of nothing else that would have prompted the look of apparent amusement on her face.

"Still has nothing on you though," she grinned, reassuring him.

"And why is that?" he asked, eyeing her over the rim of his coffee cup with one eyebrow raised.

"Because, while she gives me the most depraved ideas, you're the only one I can see myself doing those things with," she winked. "Attraction's a difficult thing to define. Besides, you have a nicer ass."

With that comment, Heero learned that coffee was a very real choking hazard. Following a rather graceless spit take, he redeemed himself by coughing and swallowing simultaneously in an inexplicable esophageal feat. No dignity lost there. Well, a little dignity lost. He really didn't want to go into the specifics of the amount of dignity hemorrhaged at that point.

"I think somebody needs a shower," chuckled Relena, picking a paper towel up from the table and leaning over to wipe at his chest. "What do you say to moving ahead of schedule?"

If ever a particular cure for embarrassment had been invented specifically for him, taking Relena into his arms, hauling her to the bathroom and shoving her up against the tile wall of the shower stall was it. And having her fully dressed while getting her wet in more ways than one? He had to admit that she was just as sexy covered up as she was stripped down.

Not that he was opposed to having her both ways.

Suffice to say, Heero now had a reason not to hate Mondays and he may very well have had Dorothy to thank for it.

* * *

First prompt: jealousy. Snog's not really apparent here but it's the kiss on the cheek she gives him. Sorry if it sucks. -_-


End file.
